Bob Lovinger, Founder of Tennis Cruise

I probably should leave well enough alone because just mentioning Serena always seems to take up half of my day in responses.

Yesterday’s email electrified my audience more than any I have written in the past. It seems like about 2/3 of you agreed with my assessment, but there are a number of Serena fans that made some good points that I feel I should address.

First, let me say that I don’t believe this is a racial issue in any way. I know it’s not for me. I like to believe that sports fans are, for the most part, color blind.

I was accused of singling out Serena while other players act badly as we well. This is very true. But there is a reason. Serena, love her or hate her, is the queen of this sport. She is admired by millions of girls who look up to her. Whether she likes it or not, she has a responsibility. Does anyone care if Jelena Jancovic is a bad sport?

I think the same was true of John McEnroe when he behaved badly or Andre Agassi. Our champions are held to a higher standard.

Look at how Roger handles his defeat to Robin Soderling. I’m paraphrasing but he said basically said I didn’t think I played a bad match, he played great tennis.

Let’s face it. If Serena and Roger play their absolute best, they are almost unbeatable. But professional athletes often have to deal with less than their best and the opponent usually has something to do with their defeats.

I know that even as a club player, I hate when an opponent diminishes my win by pointing out his, out of the ordinary, poor play. What does that say? The reason I won is because you sucked today. Maybe you did suck today, but I would like to think that I had something to do with it.

My final point is this. I’m not a tennis insider. I like to think that I represent the average tennis fanatic in my view points. I just love the sport.

Since I don’t know any of these athletes I have nothing else to go by other than what they do and say in front of the audience and the cameras.

When I witnessed Xavier Malisse continuously drop his towel on the ground in front of the ball boy instead of handing it to him, my conclusion is that Malisse is a jerk. Off the court, he may be a gentleman, but I don’t see it.

Athletes better be aware that we are judging them. It works the other way too. There are athletes who know how to behave in front of the cameras but are jerks off of it.

Individual sports are funny. It’s not like we have a hometown team to root for. We root for the individual based on how nice we think they are, the way they play the game, hoe they look, etc.

Male tennis fans are particularly funny in this area. We tend to root on looks. The feminine, pretty girls have a much bigger fan base because of their appearance. Is it right? No, but who cares. That’s the way it is.

I think Serena unjustifiably loses points because of this. She usually looks bigger and stronger than her meek opponents. She is always the odds on favorite to win. So many root against her.

particularly men. What can I say?

Serena, I love your game. No one in the sport has a bigger heart on the court. You are a great athlete. But please, a little graciousness in front of your audience would go a long way. You don’t have to give up that fire in your gut. Just compose yourself and say the right things, even if you believe the opposite to be true.

We may agree or disagree, but we all love tennis and that’s the important thing.

Enjoy the rest of the French Open and enjoy your weekend.

Until next time…

P.S. There is still time to join me on our Tennis Cruise to the US Open in August or our Tennis Hall of Fame Tennis Cruise in October

go to

http://www.tennis-cruise.com/current-packages.html

Bob Lovinger, Founder of Tennis Cruise

This is what makes Serena so difficult to root for.

Don’t get me wrong, she is one of the great champions of all time. And while here on court antics have been questionable or worse over the years, I could forget the because other great players have been jerks in the heat of the moment.

It’s her calculated, off court comments and attitude that make me not like her.

After losing to Sam Stosur, did she credit here opponent?

Once again, Serena fails to take the high road and admit that she was beaten by a better player (for the day) and instead made the following statement.

SERENA WILLIAMS: “I expected to play better. I’m a little disappointed, obviously, in the way I played. I was definitely off. I didn’t play as well as I did in my other four rounds.

Had I played better for two minutes, maybe the result could have been different. But it didn’t work out, so…”

I watched the match and Stosur was simply better. She pushed Serena around and should have won in two sets had she not choked a bit. She did the same thing to Justine Henin.

To me, Serena did not play badly. No player ever plays perfectly.

Serena face it, sometimes your opponent has something to do with your loses. It’s not all up to you.

People tend to tie Serena and Venus together is all regards. It’s hard not to do. But in this respect it’s unfair to Venus. Venus is a gracious champion who simply gets it. She must cringe when Serena opens her mouth.

Venus has been a great ambassador to the sport of tennis. Serena, not so much.

This has been a great French Open. In the past two days we have seen the great Roger go down and a journeyman like Meltzer make it to the semi-finals. After a brief dress rehearsal two years ago, the baton may finally be passed from Roger to Rafa as the greatest player in the sport.

If that is so, Roger, I am thankful because you have been a great great champion. No, the greatest. You have represented tennis wonderfully.

We are so fortunate to have two all time great players playing at the same time. Roger is the best of all time, but who knows, at the end, Rafa may supplant him.

The Soderling vs Berdych match could be the match of the tournament and the winner should not be taken for granted as a challenge to Rafa (assuming the remarkably unexpected doesn’t happen by Meltzer beating him.

Bjorn Borg believes that Soderling could become number one and who am I to say that it’s impossible. He is the hardest hitter in the game and his serve is formidable.

Tennis is in really good shape with star players hitting their peak for great contests for years to come.

Until next time…

Bob Lovinger, Founder of Tennis Cruise

I spend a great deal of time thinking about the role tennis has in my life. Do I have too much time on my hands? I don’t think so, but maybe.

Anyway, this month’s issue of Tennis Magazine has a small article that sums it up for me.

I question my motives often. After all, I’m constantly battling injuries and I lose more than I win. So what gives.

The article in Tennis Magazine is about a gentleman named Roger Pharr. Roger recently celebrated his 80th birthday with 67 guests. at his country club.

The guests surprised him with a 42 inch plasma TV.

He surprised them by giving each guest (plus the wait staff and cooks) a trophy he had won for winning amateur tennis tournaments.

Pharr is a legend in Orlando. He has been in the Top 10 in every USTA Florida group from the open division to the 65s, and at age 60, he was ranked number 1 in the 50s, 55s, and 60s.

According to one of his friends he had won around 900 trophies.

His explanation though summed this up for me.

“Trophies don’t have much relevance for me. The real reward is the experience of sometimes getting beaten and sometimes winning, but always meeting great people who share my love for the game”

That’s my answer too.

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Sometimes I take for granted that everyone understands what cruises are all about.

I’ve been on many, but only 17% of the population has been on one.

Tennis Cruise events take place on luxury cruise lines that usually accommodate over 2000 people.

The ships are remarkable. Cruises really offer the most complete and cost effective vacation one can imagine.

It’s really all inclusive except for alchohol, gambling, and merchandise you may purchase.

All meals and entertainment are included. In most cases, the food is pretty extraordinary.

The ship itself is great. It’s really hard to get bored because there is so much to do. The Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas has such amenities as a rock climbing wall, an ice skating rink, mini golf, a ton of pools, a spa, and so much more.

Some people ask me about getting sea sick.

Though it does occasionally happen, the size and stability of the ship make sea sickness rare. And there is so much you can do today to avoid it.

And just a word about Bermuda, our destination for the August Tennis Cruise that includes the US Open. If you haven’t been there, it is one of the most beautiful vacation locations in this hemisphere. It has the feel of England and some of the most gorgeous beaches you will ever find.

We will be playing tennis but we will also leave you plenty of time to enjoy the island. You can even take in a round of golf if you wish.

For more information, go to

www.Tennis-Cruise.com/USOpen.html or call (866)606-8249. You can also schedule a telephone appointment by going to http://tennis-fantasy.genbook.com

Until next time…

Bob Lovinger

Bob Lovinger, Founder of Tennis Cruise

There has been so much in the news the past few years about all the cheating in sports.

Athletes striving to reach great heights regardless of what it takes.

Even tennis has been tainted with cheaters. Just this week, Wayne Odesnik volunteered to a suspension until his charges of traveling with performance enhancement drugs are ironed out.

This past weekend, there were two signs that honesty is alive and well in professional sports.

The first has been well publicized. A little know golfer from England, Brian Davis, was in a playoff round, hoping to win his first professional golf tournament when he honorably called a penalty on himself.

And in tennis, I witnessed Raffa call a ball in against himself in a semi-final match. While the stakes were not nearly as high (no one came close to beating him) it is a wonderful sign of integrity.

For those of us involved in individual sports, this is nothing new.

I grew up playing team sports and from the youngest age, there was always umpires or referees.

It wasn’t until my daughter started playing tennis did I realize that tennis at levels below professional were self umpired.

In the hundreds of matches she played, from junior high through college,that I witnessed, I can count on one hand the players she played against that cheated.

Did kids make bad calls? Absolutely. But most of the time the bad calls went against the players themselves.

My daughter, in her effort to be honest, probably cost herself hundreds of points and a few matches.

But you know what? Who cares. The bigger life lessons are more important.

Even at my club level this holds true. Sure, there are a couple of players that give themselves the benefit of the doubt, but the overall rule is that uncertainty is to benefit the opponent. I know I hold this policy true. I won’t call a shot out unless I am 100% sure.

Perhaps other sports should take notice and force kids at a young age to self-govern their games. Perhaps we would see adults with more integrity.

In life, the end does not justify the means. Unfortunately, too many people don’t understand the concept.

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If you haven’t already seen it, check out the very nice video put together by one of our Sony Ericsson Open Tennis Cruise participant’s. It can be found on our home page at www.Tennis-Cruise.com

And if you think that you may know people interested in one of our events, join Tennis Cruise Club. Membership is absolutely free. You can find more information at www.tennis-cruise.com/become-a-member.html

Until next time…

Bob Lovinger, Founder of Tennis Cruise

I have played sports my entire life. All kinds of sports. Growing up, baseball was my favorite. I started playing tennis at a relatively late age.

It all started when my daughter picked up the racket and started playing for her school team.

I decided that I wanted to share this with her, so I started playing.

That was about nine years ago. I dove right in. I read every word of Vic Braden’s ‘Mental Tennis’. I took some lessons. I started playing some matches.

I quickly learned that tennis is by far the hardest sport I ever took on. The idea of increasing racket speed to give yourself a better chance of keeping the ball in play goes against human nature.

In baseball, I just had to worry about making contact.

In tennis, making contact was only half the battle, putting a spin on it to pull it back down onto the court was essential.

But it wasn’t long before I learned that my worst enemy would be my brain.

Mind you, I’m no genius. I consider myself a fairly intelligent guy.

And I tend to over analyze things.

That is a very bad characteristic when it comes to playing tennis. So many things can go through your mind every second it can twist you up like a pretzel.

Particularly when you are first starting out and the mechanics are not yet second nature. Every move becomes a thought. And you factor in thinking about the score, you are totally screwed.

After nine years, I’m down to only thinking about three mechanical moves on every shot. A huge accomplishment.

Then there is the matter of not letting negative past results creep in.

Now, look at a guy like Andy Murray. He is a top five player and arguably has as nice of a game as anyone not named Roger Federer. And with all of his success, he is going through a slump where he can’t get out of his own way.

I mean, he wins 75 percent of his matches against the best in the world and his brain gets in the way.

What chance do us club shlubs have?

Well, got to go fix that hitch in my serve. When I figure out the answer, I’ll let you know.

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The US Open Tennis Cruise is starting to round into shape. We are about to finalize our tennis playing in Bermuda. If all goes well, you will be able to play at one of the finest hotel resorts in the world.

If you haven’t been to Bermuda, it is picturesque. The whole island is about 22 miles long and there is beauty everywhere you look.

You’ll have a chance to play tennis and get one-on- one instructions from seasoned pros on these great courts then walk 50 feet to one of the most spectacular beaches in the world.

At our last event, we played some beach tennis so we are working on possibly making that happen this time as well. Bermuda happens to be where beach tennis got started.

We will be sailing on the Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas, an amazingly great ship. I’ve been on it twice and there is so much to do I think I still haven’t seen or done it all.

I am really excited about this event and hope you will be able to join us.

For more information, call (866)606-8249 or go to http://tennis-cruise.com/USOpen.html.

Until next time…

Bob Lovinger, Founder of Tennis Cruise

I’m not a big golf fan. As a matter of fact, I rarely watch because I find it somewhat boring.

But I must admit that I got caught up in the drama of the final day of the Masters when Phil Mickelson was battling for the championship.

On the surface, Phil appears to be the antithesis of Tiger Woods, particularly the Tiger we now know.

And we can appreciate what Phil is going through.

Both his wife and mother are battling breast cancer. While Tiger had pressure, his were self inflicted.

But it made me wonder why we root for the players we do in individual sports like tennis and golf.

Do we root for the country? Do we root for the player based on appearance? Are our views framed by how the media portrays the person?

For me, I almost always root for Roger Federer unless he is playing Andy Roddick or another American late in a tournament.

Why? First, based on what I know about him as a person, he is perhaps the most gracious champion we have ever had.

Second, I love watching him play and I want him to go deep into a tournament.

On the woman’s side, it’s not so easy for me. I love Kim because she seems to be such a nice person. I really like Venus. But overall, my rooting changes from match to match.

And I have to admit, as a guy, I do let beauty and grace on the court shape my views.

But here is the question I asked myself- when someone screws up off the court, such as what Tiger just went through, is that a reason to root against that player?

My logical answer is that the athlete and the person should be two different things, but as I stated before, what else do we have to go by.

But do we really know these athletes? Did anyone really suspect the deep, dark secret that Tiger was living?

Is the good guy we root for today the guy we’ll be reading about tomorrow?

It’s complex. When it comes to team sports, it’s easier. You root for the team. Individual sports are a whole other story.

I would be shocked if something horrible ever came out about Roger Federer. But if it did, his game will probably not look the same in my eyes.

Is it fair? Probably not, because these athletes are human and are far from perfect, but my perception of who they are is all I have to go by.

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It’s not too early to reserve your spot on the US Open Tennis Cruise.

Space on the ship and our event are filling up and we expect to sell out as word gets out on the success of our first event, the Sony Ericsson Open Tennis Cruise.

We will be announcing our tennis legend for this event in the next few weeks. Also, Tennis Cruise will be featured in an article in the June issue of Tennis Life Magazine.

Don’t delay. This event will be the vacation of a lifetime-guaranteed.

For more information, including prices, go to http://tennis-cruise.com/USOpen.html

or call (866)606-8249.

Until next time….

Bob Lovinger, Founder of Tennis Cruise

After months of planning and some late finger crossing, the Sony Ericsson Open Tennis Cruise is in the books, as they say.

I don’t want to get all sappy, but I really couldn’t be happier with the results.

Did we do everything right? Probably not, but based on the feedback we did enough to create some wonderful life experiences.

There were also some big surprises.

I think few would have listed “making new friends” as their primary motive for attending, but overwhelmingly, that was one of the top end results that participated listed. It was surreal watching how fast friendships were formed considering these people were total strangers days earlier.

The bond of being a tennis fan/player was that strong. It didn’t matter if they were a beginner or a 5.0 player, and we had them all.

In the end, this played out as I suspected. Tennis players want to play tennis on their vacation. They also want to party and have a good time and this had it all. We even had one participant (I’ll call her “Lucky Lucy”)who probably had the event paid for through her casino fortunes.

Hitting balls on a moving cruise ship was a blast. The Playmate Tennis people (www.playmatetennis.com)  and their ball machine really added to the experience.

Owen Davidson wowed us with his stories of tennis over the past for decades. Getting pointers by a Hall of Famer didn’t hurt either.

Even rain at the Sony Ericsson Open didn’t dampen the experience. Most of our participants got at least two solid days of watching great live matches.

Go to our new home page to see what participants had to say (www.Tennis-Cruise.com) and also check out our photo gallery.

I’m sure I’ll have more to say in the coming days.

I’m really thankful to those that were our guinea pig and joined us at this inaugural event. It was a little bit of a leap of faith but I think the gamble paid off.

Future participants will benefit by our new found knowledge.

Until next time…

Bob Lovinger, Founder of Tennis Cruise

For some reason, Indian Wells always seems to have strange results.

Perhaps it’s the mental aspect of having two big tournaments back to back (The Sony Ericsson begins immediately after Indian Wells).

Perhaps on the woman’s side, it’s the absence of the Williams sister.

Last night (early this morning for me) I stayed up to watch Roger Federer play Marcos Baghdatis. It
looked like a routine match for Roger after he was won the first set and was up a break in the second.

Over an hour later, the match was over and Baghdatis somehow managed to take it from Roger. Roger actually
had three match points. Evidently, amazingly enough, it was the first time since 2006 that Roger had a match
point and lost the match.

On the woman’s side, the top seeds are falling left and right. Even Kim and Justine, who were not top seeds but
should be, couldn’t make it past the third round.
Weird.

At the very least, the matches have been exciting. I don’t recall ever seeing so many early round matches decided by tie-breakers in the final set.

I probably won’t get to see the finals live because we’ll be on the cruise ship for our Sony Ericsson Open Tennis
Cruise, but I bet something different will happen.

Between now and then I have my own tennis issues to deal with. I have a match tonight against a guy that appears to
be impossible to beat. He has been kicking everyone’s butt.

And here is the worst part. He is at least twenty years older than I am and plays with a racket that is taped together.

Of course, he is about 6′5″ and always keeps the ball in play.

Not a good style for me since I become impatient with any rally that goes longer that five hits. I think I’ll try to keep the ball deep and shorten the court with angle shots.

I’m being told that to win a game is a success against this guy. Really, I love these kind of matches because I have
nothing to lose.

I still won’t be able to get to sleep tonight after I get back home.

Oh well, that’s life as a mediocre tennis player.

Until next time….

Bob Lovinger
Tennis Cruise
www.Tennis-Cruise.com

P.S. Don’t forget to check out our free Tennis Cruise Club
at http://www.tennis-cruise.com/become-a-member.html

Bob Lovinger, Founder of Tennis Cruise

I just want to take this opportunity to congratulate Owen Davidson and the other former greats newly elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

We are proud to have Owen on our first Tennis Cruise event coming up in less than three weeks.

The other great former players newly elected are Todd Woodbridge, Mark Woodforde, Gigi Fernandez, Natasha Zvereva, Brad Parks, and former chairman of the British Lawn Tennis Association Derek Hardwick.

The new members were announced during the exhibition event that occurred last night at Madison Square Garden in New York.

The tennis was actually great for an exhibition. All four woman participating happen to be among the nicest and classiest in woman’s tennis.

In particular, I really appreciate each time Venus steps onto the court. At nearly 30 and with balky knees, who knows how much longer she will play.

As great as Venus is, I was surprised when Lyndsey Davenport pointed out during the broadcast that Venus has only spent 11 weeks at number one in her career. That seems unbelievable.

The question is how many more majors would she have one if not for Serena? There was a period when they were so far ahead of everyone else that their only challenge was each other and injuries.

As for the venue itself, professional tennis needs to correct an error and bring tennis back to Madison Square Garden.

I attended the last time the woman held their year end championship there and the atmosphere was incredible.

Until next time…

Bob Lovinger

Tennis Cruise

Bob Lovinger, Founder of Tennis Cruise

Now that we are wrapping up our first Tennis Cruise event, the Sony Ericsson Open Tennis Cruise, which takes place in less than three weeks, I can reflect a little on the journey.

I spent almost 25 years in the financial arena working with people that are in financial crisis. And while that business was rewarding, it was time for a change.

I decided it was time for me to help people experience life instead of surviving it.

I want to focus on the “wants” instead of the “needs”.

In some ways, it’s an even bigger responsibility. These are the memories you will have for the rest of your life.

I really take this responsibility seriously.

I chose Tennis Cruise for selfish reasons. I love tennis and I love cruises.

It also gave me the opportunity to give you the best bang for your buck. Think about it. Where else can you get an all inclusive vacation for the price of a cruise.

I wanted to give other tennis fans like me the opportunity to vacation with their tennis rackets.

The affordability of the cruise allowed me to put together a tennis venue that is unmatched. Have you checked out the prices of tennis resorts and camps? You could pay thousands of dollars for a five day experience and it usually doesn’t include meals.

I really want to make Tennis Cruise a vacation for the masses.

I want to take this opportunity to thank Miriam for working with me on putting this together.

I tend to shoot from the hip and she brings me back down to reality. And she is the master of the details, which I am not.

And I definitely underestimated the details. There are so many moving parts to this it is hard to be believed.

I can honestly say that so far, this is a labor of love, because if it was for the money, I would be disappointed.

But really, I so look forward to this first adventure and really look forward to meeting the wonderful people that have chosen to come along for the ride.

If I must say so, I think we have over-delivered and this will be a ball.

And above all else, thank you for trusting me with your cherished vacation time.

Until next time…

Bob Lovinger

P.S. This has been so much fun, we have added two additional Tennis Cruise events. We have added the LA Open Tennis Cruise and the Tennis Hall of Fame Tennis Cruise ( you will be able to play on the grass courts). For more details, go to http://www.tennis-cruise.com/current-packages.html